MICKEY Mantle always loved the action in Atlantic City. Now a branch of Mickey’s Central Park South restaurant will open next year in Atlantic City’s Tropicana Hotel.

The Mantle family and restaurateur Bill Liederman opened a Mickey Mantle’s in West Nyack in 2001, and are planning to open as many as 10 Mantle’s restaurants in the tri-state area in the next few years.

The West Nyack restaurant is geared toward family dining where the kiddies eat for free, while the Atlantic City spot will be more adult-friendly, according to Liederman.

* The three-star Atlas Restaurant has reopened as Cafe Atlas. Chef Bryan Calvert will take over the kitchen at the 40 Central Park South location, featuring a simpler menu, lower prices and more casual atmosphere.

“Dale and I were ready to make a significant change to casual atmosphere and simple, approachable cuisine at a reasonable price,” says partner James Danos.

* Kicking off TriBeCa week will be New York’s Bravest. Firehouse chefs from each borough will compete with some of TriBeCa’s finest professional chefs in the Iron Skillet Cook-Off Nov. 11 at the Tribeca Rooftop.

Participating restaurant chefs are Pascal Guillitin of Capsouto Freres, Anthony Paris of Red Wine With Fish?, Don Pintabona of Tribeca Grill,Joey Campanaro of the Harrison and Martin Burge of Fresh.

* Try as we may, we couldn’t chose a “Dish of the Week” from chef Marco Moreira’s new menu at Tocqueville.